Project Alchemy: What Happened in Between?

In 1993, Gilbert survived a massacre of the Burundian Civil War. He recovered and returned to running, even winning a collegiate national championship in the 800m. Gilbert is the founder of the Gazelle training group in Austin, and has impacted the lives of people within and beyond the community. For him, a large part of success is helping other people find it. Gilbert shares how he applies a lifestyle of FOCUS to running and to life.

Joshua Nelson, the Chief Academic Officer at St. Andrew's Upper School, shares the whys and hows of his journey to get where he is. In this powerful interview, Josh speaks on dealing with other people's perspectives of ourselves, of taking a logistic approach to manage our worries, and reflecting on the intentionality of our actions. The penultimate episode of Project Alchemy. 

Thomas Daniel is a pastor at Covenant Presbyterian. He recounts his struggles with refraining from using accomplishments to provide value; only by doing this, he believes, are we able to find fulfillment, and accept the person we are. Though raised in a family that outlined success in a traditional manner – attend a good college, procure a high-paying salary, and so on – Thomas's life has strayed far from the norm, and he shares the highs and lows in his story to do so. 

The senior member of the Dixie Chicks shares some of her story in their rise to fame. Martie reflects on what brought her fulfillment, and how the goal of playing music was never to achieve stardom.

Rufus Griscom, the father of multiple companies including Babble.com, shares his struggles and triumphs in entrepreneurship, and dissects what ultimately led to fulfillment for him. As an optimist who believes all success is team-driven, Rufus encourages us to try numerous different endeavors, and to embrace the failures that come with them.

Scott Zimmerman, the SEL director at St. Andrew's Episcopal School, shares his take on what brings him fulfillment and joy: making an impact on others. He describes the moments of clarity that have allowed him to make the right choices, as well as how he finds the courage to stand with people in their times of struggle.